contributions

The White Stork synagogue in Wrocław was the only synagogue in the city to survive the Holocaust. Restored in 2010 after a decade-long renovation, it now serves as a cultural centre. But how much do people really remember of what happened here during the war?

In February 2016, a Bulgarian eco-activist was sentence for a Facebook status aimed at the executive director of one of the biggest mining companies in the country. The case drew attention to the potential fragility of freedom of expression in Bulgaria. After the sentence was issued, the next stage of the trial is set for the 30th of May.

He’s a green politician, activist and scientist, who organised one of the biggest environmental protests in recent Bulgarian history. He exposed the pollution of a local river by a mining company, and according to him subsiquently and on other occasion was rewarded with a lawsuit to fight against. When juggling so many balls in the air, it’s a miracle he has any free time…

Back in the 1990s, he committed a digital heist on a Bulgarian bank which won him over 90,000 euros. After returning the money (and serving his time), Stefan Cholakov now operates in a very different professional field; helping to feed Sofia's homeless population.

She is one of few women involved in documentary filmmaking and photography in Uzbekistan today. And she speaks about herself not as a dissident, but mainly as an artist. We talk with Umida Akhmedova about her life, being monitored by the authorities, virtually and metaphorically, in conservative Uzbekistan.

Stefan Greiner is a Berlin-based cyborg scientist and co-founder of Cyborgs e.V., a scientific discussion platform. He is also known for observing and ‘hacking’ his own body and emotional functions, something known as hacktivism. An interview on humans, cyborgs and the future.

They have almost been forgotten and left in a state of disrepair. The medieval monasteries and churches across Bulgaria are being rediscovered by English photographer James Crouchman, who is eager to document their existence.

In Italy, they call them "badante" - female caregivers. While these women do essential jobs, ultimately they are exploited. Without labour rights and isolated from Italian society, they represent the growing feminisation of low-skilled migrant work.

The Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk selected exactly this scarlet house, dating back from the 19th century, for his museum. We explore this beautiful building, located in the midst of overflowing antique shops street in the Istanbul quarter of Çukurcuma (cats above and gulls below, this is the default symmetry of the Turkish capital):

Ilya Yashin, one of the closest friends and colleagues of Boris Nemtsov, the Russian opposition leader murdered just outside the Kremlin, speaks to cafébabel about how Nemtsov’s loss has been felt in Russia and his hopes for democracy.